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Full Text in Pdf Format Vol. 12: 203–214, 2010 ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH Published online September 20 doi: 10.3354/esr00301 Endang Species Res OPENPEN ACCESSCCESS Habitat use and abundance of striped dolphins in the western Mediterranean Sea prior to the morbillivirus epizootic resurgence Cédric Cotté1, 2,*, Christophe Guinet2, Isabelle Taupier-Letage1, Estelle Petiau2 1Université de la Méditerranée, OSU/Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et de Biogéochimie, Antenne de Toulon, BP330, 83507 La Seyne, France 2Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France ABSTRACT: Although the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba has a world status of Least Concern, a recent IUCN Red List assessment has proposed that the Mediterranean population be listed as Vul- nerable and stresses the need for an estimate of abundance and distribution. While substantial efforts have been made to study cetaceans in regions of the western Mediterranean Sea (WM), we have lit- tle knowledge of their large-scale distribution and interaction with oceanographic features at various scales. We conducted 18 basin-wide surveys from ferry platforms within the WM from early Septem- ber 2006 to late July 2007 and used spatial modelling to investigate the distribution, abundance and habitat use of striped dolphins. Most striped dolphins were sighted north of the Balearic Islands, where they are closely associated with the counter-clockwise circulation defined by negative absolute dynamic topography. In the Algerian basin, dolphins were mostly found in recent Atlantic water mass. Densities of striped dolphins were also related to high gradients of sea surface tempera- ture and high chlorophyll concentrations. Moreover, we found similar results (1) when the northern and southern data sets were pooled and (2) in the northern area only, where the majority of sightings occurred. These relationships suggest that dolphins were found in dynamic and productive areas generated by mesoscale processes which could create favourable foraging conditions. Despite our relatively small data set, dolphins were found year-round. We estimated the number of striped dolphins in the area between 3° and 6° E to have been 38 600 (95% CI: 25 900 to 53 900) before the resurgence of the morbillivirus epizootic in summer 2007. This is considerably more than the estimate from the 1991 WM survey, which reported a 43% lower abundance, probably affected by the 1990 epizootic. Platforms of opportunity are therefore relevant not only to assess animal ecology but also to monitor population in a given area. Such interanual monitoring is especially important to detect and quantify the response of animal populations, in terms of distribution and density, to environmental stresses. KEY WORDS: Habitat use · Abundance and distribution modeling · Mesoscale oceanographic processes · Striped dolphin · Morbillivirus epizootics Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher INTRODUCTION out in the northern part of the WM, i.e. the Ligurian Sea including the Pelagos Sanctuary (e.g. Panigada et Knowledge of cetacean distribution in the western al. 2008, Laran & Gannier 2008), and along the Spanish Mediterranean Sea (WM) is not spatially and tempo- coasts (Cañadas et al. 2005, Cañadas & Hammond rally homogeneous, especially with regard to relation- 2008, Gómez de Segura et al. 2006). These surveys ships with the animals’ oceanographic environment. were often undertaken in the framework of conserva- Because most of the data come from visual observa- tion of wildlife populations through establishment of tions, this knowledge is inherently limited in space and marine protected areas. A large-scale survey con- time. Spatially, observations have mostly been carried ducted during summer 1991 still applies as a reference *Email: [email protected] © Inter-Research 2010 · www.int-res.com 204 Endang Species Res 12: 203–214, 2010 for distribution and abundance of cetacean popula- with the Mediterranean marine environment (Millot & tions in the WM (Forcada & Hammond 1998). Despite Taupier-Letage 2004). the attempts of a few previous studies to study large- Because of their regular and frequent path across the scale patterns such as the seasonal abundance of WM, opportunistic platforms like ferries are relevant to cetaceans in the Ligurian Sea (Laran & Drouot-Dulau this type of study. Spatial modelling, increasingly used 2007), data acquisition is often limited to the summer in cetacean studies (Hedley 2000, Redfern et al. 2006), season (review in Aguilar 2000). Thus no studies have can indeed accurately analyse data from such plat- yet assessed the distribution of cetaceans in the WM at forms (Marques 2001, Henrys 2005, Williams et al. both large and annual scales. 2006). In addition to presenting several advantages, From an IUCN report (Reeves & Notarbartolo di such as mapping animal abundance and investigating Sciara 2006) and its recent updates, striped dolphin relationships between density and environmental Stenella coeruleoalba in the Mediterranean is cur- covariates, the feasibility of this approach and preci- rently proposed to be listed on the IUCN Red List as sion of estimates have been tested by comparisons Vulnerable. The Mediterranean population of striped with conventional line transect analysis (Gómez de dolphin is particularly exposed to high levels of chem- Segura et al. 2007). Moreover, methods based on gen- icals and heavy metals, which have severe effects on eralized additive models (GAMs; Hastie & Tibshirani their reproduction and immune system (Aguilar & Bor- 1990) were reported to predict cetacean densities on rell 1994). Moreover, Reeves & Notarbartolo di Sciara smaller spatial scales than conventional line transect (2006) reported that the association of mortality in analyses (Ferguson et al. 2006), enabling us to investi- pelagic driftnets (thousands of animals per year) and gate in particular the influence of oceanographic the residual effects of a large-scale die-off from an epi- mesoscale features. We focused our effort on straight zootic in the early 1990s provided the main basis for transects, crossing the WM from northern to southern the proposed listing as Vulnerable. The population shores. Sightings of striped dolphins, in situ oceano- was quantified at 117 880 (95% CI = 68 379 to 214 800) graphic data and remote-sensing images were used individuals in the WM immediately after the 1990 die- simultaneously to examine the spatio-temporal vari- off due to a morbillivirus epidemic (Forcada et al. 1994, ability of striped dolphin distribution and its relation- Forcada & Hammond 1998). Information on striped ship with oceanographic conditions. This variability dolphin distribution and abundance is therefore could also give insights into the potential movements needed to assess current estimates and highlight possi- of striped dolphins, for which different seasonal pat- ble population trends. terns have been reported (Gómez de Segura et al. The biological production of the oligotrophic Medi- 2006, Laran & Drouot-Dulau 2007) according to the terranean Sea, from primary production to top predators, region. is influenced at a basin scale by circulation and air–sea A large-scale and high-resolution multidisciplinary interactions. Within this basin circulation, physical phe- study was conducted shortly before the recent resur- nomena such as meanders and eddies affect biological gence of a dolphin morbillivirus epizootic in 2007 activity, implying a high mesoscale spatial and temporal (Raga et al. 2008). We report the pre-epidemic ecolog- variability (Morel & André 1991, Taupier-Letage et al. ical status and abundance of a WM population of 2003). This can lead, locally and episodically, to unex- striped dolphin. pectedly high biological production in the WM (Taupier-Letage et al. 2003). Many previous studies on marine ecology have linked distribution and abundance MATERIALS AND METHODS of marine predators to high biomasses of resources through biological stimulation and/or aggregation (e.g. Observation and environmental data. Observations Guinet et al. 2001). However, most of these studies are were originally planned for a 2 wk period; however, snapshots of a given, and maybe ephemeral, situation of the meteorological conditions and the ship’s schedule the environment, and they are not designed to consider limited this effort. Data were collected during 18 trips dynamic marine processes. In order to accurately de- between 12 September 2006 and 26 July 2007 on a scribe interactions between cetaceans and their environ- ferry crossing the WM from Marseille (France) to ment in such a dynamic oceanographic context, espe- Algiers and Bejaïa (Algeria) (Fig. 1). Each trip was 2 d cially considering the mesoscale phenomenona, it long and consisted of 2 transects (continuous on-effort is crucial to design a relevant mesoscale-dedicated search time): one from the French coast to the north of sampling strategy. This approach needs to include the Balearic Islands (during daytime on Day 1), and the multidisciplinary high-resolution and long-term (at least other from the Algerian coast to the south of the annual) monitoring. Only such a data set would capture Balearic Islands (during daytime on Day 2). The north- the variability in cetacean distribution and its links ern and southern transects never joined in the middle Cotté et al.: Pre-epidemic striped dolphin habitat and abundance 205 Fig. 1. (a) Transects of the ferries in the study
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